Seven steps to being a good Father
by xentrya
Summary: So let's see...in the show, Xena finds out that she is pregnant with Eve, father unknown, and Ares simply accepts the idea of some out of this world entity having inseminated his Princess, right? Wrong! ...Well at least in my story...Let's just say that the original script underestimated a bit his reaction to the subject...
1. Step 1: Revelation

**Seven steps to being a good Father.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing yadda yadda yadda...**

**(Xentrya)**

**Step 1: Revelation**

The resonant sound of mechanically clashing swords and high pitched fighting shouts was bursting throughout the woods like thunder, amplified at least a couple of times by the menacing gusts of wind that were supposed to bring about a quite considerable quantity of ice cold, heavy rain in but a matter of minutes….

To a foreign, exterior presence , judging by the sparks flying all around them from the roughly colliding metal, the two opponents were striking to kill, eager to draw blood, to carve some flesh in the process, but to a more familiar eye, they were just playing around, barely training….

Nonetheless, beyond any shadow of a doubt, the instant Ares' blade dropped flat to the ground, Xena's teasing, knee slapping laughter would have taken right about anyone by surprise - given the fact that their facial expression was looking anything but bemused and jocular only a few moments before….

"Don't tell me the big, bad God of War is scared of lightening! " the sharp irony rolled off her tongue ass soon as his sword touched the grass, arching an eyebrow at the broken, bright yellow line splitting the skies in half.

In response, a round energy bolt made her own weapon fly away from her hand with a speed to rival the unshackled forces of nature.

Fine flickers of lethal electricity were still tickling the tip of his fingertips as she narrowed those arctic blue moons at him, and his entire being was flashing with the exhilarating spirit of battle and subtle victory. His body was strikingly relaxed though, his pose almost casual, as if he were there for the sole purpose of finding out the latest gossip spreading throughout the Athenian Agora at noon and not to rip the head off her shoulders…..

"Me? No. Are you?" he finally replied, grinning widely at her slightly bruised hand….

There was no trace of pain on her features but the God knew better…that type of impact was bound to leave a mark….

"How's your hand? " he continued to sting, unable to restrain the need to brag a bit about that tremendously successful hit.

She just sneered in disgust at his filthy way of doing things.

"Could you play fair for once?"

"Where would the fun in that be, Princess? "

"I guess you're right….Kicking your ass during each confrontation would be a lousy way to spend my spare time…What?!" she playfully exclaimed while proudly analyzing that artificially forced smile he was now displaying. "We both know that without the godly powers you'd be shamefully biting the dust whenever you'd feel the need to release all that negative, pent up energy…"

A low, mocking laugh rushed to precede his line, skillfully masking that unfathomable frustration induced by her previous words. She was patronizing him…a GOD. An Olympian God….That had to change…..

"You have a very, very twisted vision about me….Why don't you let me fix that? "

Within a blink, showing off some amazing, super human dexterity, the son of Zeus was flipping into the air, ready to launch a rough surprise attack on his "victim" - using a new move that he was dead sure she had never seen before- when, counting on pretty much the same technique, the raven Warrior jumped right by him, kicking him in the back with a strength to mach his own.

They both fell face down on the ground, grinding their teeth nosily, just to rapidly get back on their feet, as if trying to pretend that nothing had happened, that such particular sequence could be but a figment of their overly wild imagination.

Soon, they were both ready for the following stage, and the agile Warrior Princess could swear on her flawless honor that she had correctly noticed a weak spot in her adversary's defense during their sword fight, a detail that she was on the verge of using in her own advantage, when, right out of nowhere, Ares vanished like a plume of smoke from the place where he had been standing, just to appear in the blink of an eye at a fairly dangerous distance behind her, eagerly applying an obviously damaging elbow strike several inches above her kidneys.

...She collapsed back to the ground like a rock, in desperate need for air, the ripping sensation traveling throughout her every cell now, refusing to allow her brain to control her lungs any more.

For a couple of seconds, everything turned dark, and the earth itself felt like shaking beneath her palms…..She couldn't move, she couldn't think, and she definitely couldn't anticipate Ares' next move, so when he grabbed her arm and yanked her to her feet, she was literally under the impression that her spine was going to snap, so intense was the pain…..

All of the sudden, an unbearable feeling of nausea made her press her lips together with the back of her hand...She was as pale as a ghost.

The very moment he was about to kick her again, aiming for the stomach this time, the God froze in place though when he noticed the fading color in her cheeks….By all appearances she was about to black out soon….

Expertly masking his surprise, and without giving his impulse a second thought, Ares wrapped his arm around her waist for support.

"Xe? Are you ok? What? Is it the back? Have I hit too hard? Maybe you should lay down a bit…" he hesitantly suggested, trapped between the urge to locate the source of her pain and her reaction regarding the passion he had put in that kick.

"I'm fine…" she barely managed to mutter, doing her best to keep her balance.

Fortunately, he was not that easy to fool...

With infinite care, he took her in his arms and transported her a few yards away, under a sky high oke tree, aware that the rain was about to start soon….

Nonetheless, the second he laid her on the grass , his own face turned chalk white, as his hand remained fully petrified on her flat belly.

Despite the still present discomfort, Xena couldn't help sensing the radical change in vibration coming from his aura, a strange, perceptible transformation ranging from utter worry, to surprise and barely controlled wrath:

"You're pregnant?!"


	2. Step 2: Denial

_**A huge hug for all my reviewers and loyal readers. **__** Thank you for your support!**_

**Step 2: Denial**

"No, I'm not pregnant!" she neurotically blew up, pushing my hand brutally aside, despite the brain freezing pain I could just tell was still washing throughout her every cell.

In my turn, I pushed her hands away, placing my palm back on her belly….There was no doubt about it….I could distinctly feel that new, fresh energy radiating from within her…I was simply paralyzed with confusion and rage, while hundreds of different scenarios started whirling like devastating tornados inside my head…

"You are!"

I don't know why but I could no longer recognize my own voice….It was so thick and so full of fury that for a split second there, I was under the impression that the words had been voiced by someone else.

"I think I would have known that much!" she spitted out angrily, stubbornly trying to demolish my theory, completely ignoring the pain the moment she made a first attempt to get up and turn her back on the "problem"..

"Well you obviously don't!"

She stood silent for a couple of seconds, before the sentences finally pilled up in her throat ready to turn audible…

"Are saying that you actually dared doing this to me without at least having the decency to ask me how I felt about it, first? You sick, loathable Bastard! "

I stared at her incredulously for Fates know how long, my hands shaking from the effort put into that hard to accomplish command sent by my brain not to strangle her to death then and there.

"It's not my child!" I finally screamed in her face from the top of my lungs, and, as the sounds came out I could feel my heart breaking to a million pieces against my ribcage..

For a reason unknown to me, she looked stunned by the news, as if she wasn't expecting it.….

" Well I sure haven't managed to conceive it all by myself now, did I ? I'm not a miracle worker, Ares!" she growled like a wild beast against my lips, on the same furious tone that I had previously used with her….

"Who's the father?" I firmly requested the information, pushing her forcefully back down the instant she tried once more to stand up, to her unimaginable revolt. Her eyes were burning like torches by now.

"Where in Tartarus did you get that sick nerve from?!" she retorted, glaring daggers at me, a subtle note of surprise and frustration in her voice.

I could see a faint vein pulsating rhythmically on the surface of her left temple. Her last line passed me by though…Whatever it was she said, I couldn't hear her anymore….It didn't matter anyway…..For so long I've wanted a child with her…..and she knew it….And now that she finally decided to have one, she chose someone else over me….

"Who's the father?!" I yelled again, so loudly this time that I could feel a very unusual pain in my throat, as if something had snapped….

By the time the last word left my mouth, my fingers had viciously gripped her shoulders, shaking her hysterically , adamant about either finding out what I needed to know or tearing her arm bones out of their sockets.

She ferally fought to free herself from my grasp…It was in vain… the jealousy and the spite nesting inside my soul, grating and biting it alive, were doing one hell of a job taking over my reason…..

"Tell me what I wanna know, damn it or I swear it on Styx, there will be nothing left of you when I'm done!"

"I don't know!" she finally exploded, making my head spin even faster than before…

"You don't know?" I murmured gravely, finally regaining some control over my actions….It only lasted for a little while though…

"No I don't…." she hissed through clenched teeth, her breath ragged and heavy, her deceiving moons well hidden behind a couple of wet strands now framing her face…

I can't tell to this day if it was her tonality that pushed me so close to the edge of insanity, the logical meaning of her words or that defying look in her eyes as our gazes finally connected…..All I know is that in a blinding fit of rampaging rage, making mercilessly use of all my godly force, of all the energy I had left, I threw her as hard as I could into that tree trunk, smashing her back against it without giving her fragile condition a second thought …. I was completely out of my mind….

I only realized what I have done when that low, inhuman moan of crushing pain grazed my ear drums, and I saw that crimson thread of blood trickling down her thighs and staining her hands….

As if someone had slapped me back to reality I rushed by her side….She instinctively wrapped her arms across her stomach, convinced that I was about to hit her again…..

I couldn't believe what I had done….In spite of her fierce resistance and the blatantly obscene words pouring from her lips, I took her in my arms and vanished from the now heavily falling rain….


	3. Step 3: Awareness

As soon as we got to the temple, I laid her on the bed, and it's a good thing the sheets were made out of black silk so that the contrast of the now considerable amount of blood staining the rare, dark fabric was not as strong as if a lighter color had been in place….

…Gods knew my conscience was troubled enough as it was by the dramatic scene unfolding before my eyes and by the awareness of what I've done, no need for extra special effects….

"Calythya!" the name echoed like a thunderous command throughout the large halls, while with a wave of my hand I dematerialized the heavy, burdensome amour from my Princess' limp body, replacing it with a blue velvet nightgown.

She didn't say anything regarding the wardrobe change, she just automatically curled up into a ball, her face well buried into the soft pillow that she had gripped with surprising force at her chest, and despite the fact that Gods don't generally panic - and if they ever do it's for reasons that common mortals would never get to understand- I could swear it in front of the Fates, watching her broken like that, my heart was drumming to the point that I was sure it would jump out of my chest.

I was horrified by the implications of my outburst…..

The worst part about it though was that I was just standing there, completely clueless about what to do….Her wounds seemed severe enough, there was internal bleeding and without Athena's blessing there was only little I could do.

"Yes My Lord" the Priestess's voice effectively diverted my attention a couple of seconds from Xena's muffled, agonizing groans. …

"Close the doors of the temple and don't allow anyone inside today, no matter how urgent their problem is. I also want complete and utter silence. Make sure the other girls get the message. "

"Yes…my Lord….."

"Go!" I briefly ordered without even bothering to look at her, my eyes still firmly fixed on Xena's fragile form...Her condition was rapidly deteriorating.

When I could no longer hear the priestess' steps on the marble floor, I finally snatched the pillow from my Princess' arms….She would have normally protested, I'm sure, but given that convulsing pain reverberating right about everywhere -from her spine to the tips of her toes- the absence of any kind of reaction was imminent…..or at least that's what I initially thought, cause the instant I tried to shift her on her back, the wild side of her nature prevailed…

"Get your hands off me, you worthless piece of Scum!"

I took a deep breath….Healing her was going to be a chore….

"Unless you want to bleed to death, you're gonna let me help you ok?"

She evidently wanted to bit back, but a new invisible stab slashing her belly from inside out made her curl back again, biting her lower lip so hard in the process that seconds later when the pain eased, there was blood trickling down her chin too.

...I had to look aside for a few moments...If I considered her as pale as a ghost before, I must have been seeing things, since now she was completely livid.

….And what really managed to scare the Tartarus out me, was not precisely her death announcing pallor, but rather the unsteady rhythm of her breathing …It looked like it was getting harder and harder by the minute for her to inhale…..As if her lungs were no longer able to hold the air….

"Lay on your back…." I ordered, doing my best to help her straighten her body without causing any additional pain.

"What are you doing?" she inquired her gaze frighteningly hollow, transfixed with suffering, in perfect contrast with her now nearly blank face…

"Trying to stop the bleeding..." I murmured, placing both my hands over her stomach…..

She tensed at the contact.

"Don't move…."

"Stop pressing …" she whined, her fists instantly clenching at the intense wave of pain drilling through her flesh.

"Honey, I'm barely touching you… Now stand still a bit, ok?"

"Oh Gods!" she barely had the force to whisper once I projected a thick flow of blue healing energy over her abdomen….

As it gradually entered her body, spreading throughout her nervous system and organs, she unavoidably slipped into unconsciousness….

That finally allowed me to add some real pressure to my touch, so that I could feel her injuries better…I can't really explain it, but I exhaled in relief once I sensed that the baby was still alive….at least for the moment that is….

What kept worrying me the most almost an hour later though , was that despite the fact that I had somehow managed to stop that heavy bleeding, fine, continuous crimson threads were still trickling down her thighs….

The half filled part of the glass was that Xena's mind was still caught up in some far away reality, which gave me some extra time to find a solution to the problem.

"Aphrodite! " I called, the moment I realized that I simply didn't know what else to do. I was in over my head.

It took her awhile until she made an appearance, or so it seemed to me, but when she finally materialized into the room, she did prove her usefulness.

Contrary to my expectations, she didn't panic like I had, she didn't scream , she didn't turn hysterical, and most of all she didn't faint at the sickening sight of that unbelievable quantity of blood soaking the bed sheets.

"What happened?" she immediately questioned, rushing by my side? "What's wrong with her?"

"How do you stop a miscarriage?" I answered, getting right to the point, aware that there was no time for long, tedious explanations.

To my boundless surprise she gave me a straight answer, without submitting me to the classical _"How? When ? Why didn't you tell me ?"_ interrogatory.

"You need to stop the hemorrhage …."

"I've already tried that….Energy patches, ribwort root, nettle leaves…you name it…..It didn't work miracles…And Athena is definitely not an option..."

"There's this mixture of plants…...Unfortunately, I'm not particularly good at naming them you know…Do you remember that cute red flower growing up in my garden in Lesbos ? …."

"Amaranth?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's the one….and then there's the toad pipe, I believe ? You have to boil them for like fifteen minutes and then you have to make her drink the horribly tasting liquid….."

"Does it work ?"

"I guess…..I saw a couple of my priestesses using it on several occasions…."

"You guess…?!"

My tone was suddenly harsh, completely displeased by the idea of such low probability. I needed to know for sure…

"Well…until we come up with a better option you could at least try…."

A wave of my hand was all it took and five minutes later the potion was ready…..Thank the Fates for the godly powers…had I waited for another quarter of hour to pass, I would have lost my mind….

Unconscious as she was, I forced the liquid down her throat….I was almost sure the taste would wake her up…If the smell was nearly impossible to bear, I could only imagine how it felt on her tongue….

She didn't stir though…I couldn't tell if that was a good thing or not….

"Now all we have to do is wait….." Aphrodite concluded, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.

Stubbornly, my lips refused to part to offer her a reply….Instead, another wave of my had made clean, white sheets appear on the bed, so that I could clearly see any change in the blood flow….

"So…wanna talk about it? " she inquired lowly, searching for my gaze.

"Not really." I pointed out , placing once again my hand on Xena's stomach….

"It's not your child….." she underlined, watching pensively my Princess' visibly tormented face.

I wanted to say something but I couldn't. I just gulped nosily, withdrawing my hand as if it burned, utter disgust written all over my face….

"Did you two have an argument? What did she say? How did this happen…?"

"_Here we ago…."_ I silently told myself, aware that there was no way I could hide behind a finger forever. She just had to ask….

"Not much….I kinda lost my temper before I found out the rest of the details."

My retort was murderously passive, and my gaze slashingly cold when I passed her by, drifting away from the bed….

"You…you did this?!"

She sounded shocked. As if she didn't know me well enough by now…..

"I'm not particularly proud of it, if that's what you're asking!"

"No that's not what I'm asking, Ares! "

"I couldn't control myself ok?! I'm still surprised I didn't kill her , Dite!"

For a few seconds she didn't know what to say. She just kept staring at me with those bright blue eyes, so annoyingly similar to Xena's.

"Who's the father?"

"I don't know! " I spitted out, completely disturbed by the subject. " She said she didn't know…." I added, above a whisper this time, the muddy words barely rolling off my tongue.

Once again, my head felt like it was about to explode from the tension .

"Does wishing that child's death make me look like a monster, Dite?" I questioned, glaring daggers at my sleeping Princess, unable to control the tears rolling down my cheeks….I was so furious with her….so unbelievably furious that I could physically feel the need to crush, to blow up something, to torch that entire place to the ground, with her tied up to that freaking bed….

"Ares! That child is but an innocent, defenseless being that shouldn't pay for it's mother's mistakes! How can you even say that?!"

"Because I feel it Gods damn it! I feel like pushing a knife into her and I hate myself for it! " I exploded, punching the wall so hard that I could hear my bones cracking.

"Don't talk like that…."

"It's the truth…! The mere idea that she's going to have some other man's child is killing me! I'd rather see her dead! "

I instantly turned my back on her, pressing my hands against my temples. I couldn't stand her accusing glare any more, and by all Cosmos, Xena's cadaverous pallor only made me feel even guiltier….

To top it all, my mind was a mess, and all those different feelings and virtual images piled up together, pressing on my brain from all sides, were making it impossible for me to think clearly...

Nonetheless, my disty Sister's shirk made me rush back by the bed in a blink...

"Ares? "

"What?"

My eyes quickly scanned the sheets, expecting to find a large puddle of fresh blood…There was nothing visible there…..

"Is the child immortal?!" she exclaimed, and for a moment there, time stopped flowing for me….It was all too much…..


	4. Step 4: Outburst

"What? No….I don't think so …" the God answered raggedly, refusing to at least contemplate the possibility.

Aphrodite just cast him an incredulous look before placing impatiently once again her light, ivory palm on Xena's stomach, eager to find out more about the origin of that peculiar soul transforming within her..

"It is! ….How could you have missed this, Ar'?!" she exclaimed, throwing her Brother an explicitly accusing look.

"Maybe because I was too damn focused on trying to smash her spine against a tree trunk?!" he snapped, irritated by his Sister's nerve to judge him. " It's a good thing that she at least had the decency to spare me the humiliation of screwing around behind my back with some worthless, second rated mortal! At least she chose a God! " he kept muttering, and despite his most noble intentions to stop talking, his tongue continued to unabashedly articulate the rest of his brutish thoughts: " ….So, who do I have to kill? Is it Apollo? Hades? Dad?! Did she aim that high? Do we have to call her **Stepmom** from now on? "

The classic, dark humor reverberating from his casually uttered sentences was quite obvious, but the Love Goddess knew better….She could read him like an open book, and according to all psychological standards, he was in so much pain that he could hardly control that nervous flinch of his muscles…. Plus, Pythia knew she had given up keeping tabs on how many times he had bitten those trembling lips, during the very five minutes of her arrival….

What was truly disturbing though, was that as it always happened when the War God was angry, there was so much wrath and frustration floating around him, that the air in the room had gotten impossibly heavy to breathe…

"Chill out Bro….there's no Olympian essence in the child…."

The information hit him in the head, harder than a pile of rocks. Nothing made sense any more….

"Wh…How? What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you might not be the lucky father of this adorable little girl but you won't be an uncle or a Brother either…."

"A girl….? It's a girl?"

"It will be….In about nine months or so…."

He rolled his eyes at her childlike explanation.

During the few seconds of silence that followed, the beautiful Olympian Goddess couldn't help wondering if her favorite couple's love story would ever have a happy, happy ending…

"Who is he then, Dite, huh? Who the fuck is **he**? "

"I can't tell…You know my powers are limited to our own Pantheon….I wish I knew though…."

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn her to Tartarus! " he growled like a wounded beast, and for a moment there, Aphrodite's body tensed beyond recognition, ready to protect her sleeping friend at any cost, had her Brother lost control once more.

When that new wave of rage seemed to have passed, she questioned lowly, a rare note of uncertainty in her voice:

"Do you want to see her?"

"See who?"

" Grandma Gaia ! The baby, Silly, who else?!"

Suddenly, the visibly tormented Ares appeared even more upset than before- if that was even possible- the sharp edges of his perfectly arched eyebrows engraving a very definite and well justified **"NO"** on his sad , inconsolable features.

As seconds passed though, he hesitantly placed his hand on top of his Sister's and allowed his somber, charcoaled eyes to close while future images of a stunningly beautiful little girl feeding a happy looking Argo apples, began unfolding like a movie trailer right there, in front of him….

When the vivid colorful stream ended and reality claimed his mind one again, the ditsy daughter of Zeus was literally holding her breath…. She had secretly expected some kind of a heart melting reaction, maybe an unchecked tear or two, some carefully masked sympathy or at least a subtle sign of acceptance …..

Instead, the God's face was inscrutable, just a glimpse of nerve racking indifference playing on the surface of his eyes.

"Stay with her…." he murmured lifelessly right before he dematerialized from the place, and way before Aphrodite could reply, the blinding light of aether had already transported him out of sight….

"Oh Xe…you really messed things up this time….." the Love Goddess said with a sigh, gazing pensively at his Brother's Princess.

**XXX **

Hundreds of miles away, on top of the forever covered in snow Vesuvius, a completely overwhelmed with pain War God was falling to his knees, his lungs finally allowed to scream away towards the sky that lugubrious rhapsody of toxic feelings pressing against his peeled to the core soul.

The entire mountain shook under the devastating echo of his wails and the silence that followed once he was done was terrifying…

….Despite the fact that his throat was burning like melted wax though, that **outburst **gave him a strange sensation of unprecedented peace…Additionally, the thick layers of ice gradually covering up the remains of his torn apart heart-meant to somehow numb the suffering and drug the senses- were finally giving him the impression that he could breathe again, efficiently fooling him that there was still life after her betrayal.

….It was all but a big, fat lie... Deep down, he could recognize the hideous face of deceit...


	5. The Messenger

As always, the first impression that hit me the instant I entered the temple of the Fates, was that a tornado had past right through it just second before my arrival….Nothing seemed to be in place, nothing appeared to have a logic and a chaotic disorder culminating with the sensation that the structure itself was about to collapse at any minute was giving me a headache.

I scanned the interior attentively for a couple of seconds: it almost looked as gloomy and deserted as my own personal crib in Sparta… -well …at least mine had the advantage of good looking priestesses walking around half naked - like crazed Bachaes- busy with completing their duties…Additionally, all of my temples had skulls and swords-among other eye catching stuff decorating the rooms, whereas that damned place had nothing visually interesting to offer -unless you counted the rainbow colored woolen threads flooding every inch of the room, that is-…

By the name of Chronos, I had never understood the unjustified reason for which all living creatures were so terrified of finding out a couple of innocent spoilers on the plot-line of their destiny, and still, I had always said to myself that maybe with a bit of effort and a looot of good will, provided my curiosity was keen on challenging my brain hard enough, I could somehow manage to come up with an excuse for the mortal's lame point of view, given that in their limited, obtuse minds and imagination, the unknown had permanently been a constant cause of terror…

But why on Zeus' green Earth did the same thing have an equally devastating impact on my immortal siblings' squashed brains, now that was a mystery to me!

There would never be anything in their endless, eternal existence that could represent such an insurmountable obstacle, such a terrible danger that could suddenly shorten their life span, that could turn into an actual threat!

And still, despite the advantage of being immune to Celesta's charms, whenever the names of the Three Ladies were spoken, it was always done in the lowest of voices, with remarkable notes of respect, submission and barely repressed fear reverberating from each and every sound; an absolutely ludicrous attitude if you ask me.

...Something happened that day at temple of Destiny, though... Something meant to give me a bit of extra insight….Unexpectedly, I finally discovered the dark reasons behind that high mountain of fear shrouding the Olympians' coward hearts, and I was only able to do that the minute the three entities made an appearance, right there, before me, centuries after not having seen them at all ….Sweet Gaia, they were…creepy!

They knew **everything-** from the number of women I had fucked across the eons to the age of my last "victim", and back…..That was a bit disturbing….And the way they used to drill me with that icy stare…I'm telling ya', it was….**bone chilling**…I wouldn't want to relieve those moments for all the ambrosia on the planet!

In all kindness, the younger ones were …**decent** so to say, but Atropos…that old trout was uglier than Cerberus itself ! She looked like…like my worst childhood nightmare!

All in all, I hadn't seen them in long time, not until that accursed day anyway, when, totally overwhelmed with pain , fury and confusion, I stepped on my pride and dignity and decided to pay them a visit, adamant about putting a boot in and ask them to "enlighten" me with their flawless knowledge, trying to find some logic in that treacherous Bitch's actions…..

That's when the element of surprise took over! Despite the fact that I was well aware that there was nothing to fear, the very second that hideous creature fixed me with her glare, I desperately felt the need to call aunt Celesta to come and take me away….I was panic stricken…. and speechless….

"Ares, son of Zeus and Hera! Long time no see!" she uttered formally, no sign of emotion flickering in her eyes.

I tried to keep my cool, repeating over and over in my head that I was a God and that I should just start acting like one….It was useless…I felt like a scared, defenseless woman facing a brutal rape….I felt like….Strife…

"You look anguished…." Clotho observed in her timid, childlike voice….

At that particular time, I couldn't precisely say what was it that made the inflections rolling off her tongue sound even more terrifying than the ones echoing from Atropos' mouth...

I arched an eyebrow at her.

"_More like **intimidated**" _I said to myself, sketching a very uninspired grimace that should have resembled a courteous smile.

" More like intimidated" Lachesis repeated out loud, making my eyes double in size….

"Did you just read my thoughts?!" I exclaimed, revolted by the possibility.

"Yes, War God. That's one of my many abilities…."

"That's….**unpleasant**…." I mumbled. "Have you ever heard of that little thing called **privacy**?!" I added, louder this time, making sure that she felt my displeasure.

"There is no such thing here…."

"We see everything"

"We hear everything"

"We feel everything…"

"We predict everything"

They sounded like a broken record. They were driving me crazy.

"Ok , ok! I got the point! You're all knowing. Good for you, Zeus must be proud. Actually that's why I'm here." I rushed to add, thus considerably diminishing the amount of time I needed to waste in that inhospitable location, in such spooky, poorly dressed company.

"We know why you came, Ares. You're here to find out more about the Bringer of Twilight"

"The Bringer of what? No….wrong hypothesis. I'm not into conspiracy theories lately. Actually, I'm here to ask you some stuff about my Chosen's child. "

They all stared at each other implyingly for a few moments as if they were silently laughing in my face. I acted like I didn't care…Truth being told, they were getting on my nerves…I wanted nothing more than to direct a few punches straight to their noses !

"The Messenger of Peace will be the Bringer of Twilight."

"Messenger of Peace? Are we all talking Greek here? I was referring to my ….to Xena….You know…the tall, dark haired Warrior woman …Princess….She's dangerous….Doesn't talk much…?"

This time, the expression painted on their twisted faces was kinda insulting. They were looking at me as if **I** was the insane one….! What a joke!

"The news must have affected him!" Lachesis murmured to the others, trying to block the sounds with her hand. "Let **me** try it…"

It was official: I was fuming. She was treating me as if I were some whiny, one year old kid, learning to speak for the first time . It's a good thing that she didn't start drawing the essential information for me, too!

"For the Child not Begotten by Man, a great destiny has been foretold. It shall be a very special child whose only purpose resides into making the true pureness of Light shine upon the heart of every mortal walking on the face of the earth- a difficult mission that will be but partially fulfilled once the flow of time reaches it's end. The Messenger will open the gates of eternity for all cleansed souls, erasing the heavy primordial sins from their gene and guiding the lost sons of the One God back home…The Child of Light will be the torch meant to cast away the darkness of the deepest night but it will also be the one in charged with demolishing the old world and the old order...It has been foretold that the One God will give his Faithful Servant boundless power over everything that He himself has created…. The Messenger has a name….It's name shall be Eve…..It shall be born in the body of a girl who will be first baptized by blood and later on by fire, water and light."

Right out of nowhere, the roof of the temple felt like crushing above my head. A girl? It couldn't be…I must have misunderstood!

"Wait, wait , wait! Are you trying to tell me that Xena's child is…."

"Yes God of War….the Warrior Princess' daughter is destined to bring about the end of the Gods and prepare the way for the One God to walk among the mortals. "

Atropos' statement left no room for doubts.

"How can that be? The Child **not Begotten** by Man?! Well who in Tartars was he begotten by?! Who's the father?! Is he that One God guy? And if that's correct where can I find the punk? " I questioned, displaying total indifference regarding the part in which the old Lady was kindly announcing me that there was a frustratingly high possibility for my siblings to die a painful, terrible death.

…They could have been already on the road to Tartarus, for all that I cared…Well …minus Dite….

Clotho chuckled lowly, bemused by my blinding jealousy.

"Don't laugh little girl. It's not funny, trust me!"

I was trembling with fury and my fists were already forming a tight ball, ready to break even the thickest of walls if that meant calming down a bit.

"The Messenger of Peace has no Father. Not in the literal sense of the word, anyway. It was conceived out of the One God's will and mercy for the human kind. A purified soul was ordained to enter a clay body and the breath of life was freely offered to that form. That's all there is to it… "

"Are you kidding me?! Do you expect me to believe all this nonsense?! " I shouted at her.

Still, I stopped to think things over for awhile... And then something clicked….or so I thought…

"Wait a minute! Did **Zeus** ask you to fill my head with this crap? Does he know about Xena's pregnancy? Is Athena involved?"

"This has nothing to do with the Olympian Gods…." Atropo contradicted.

"…..The Kings' days are numbered anyway….." Clotho added, making me flinch.

"Yeah, well don't let him hear you say that, or you won't get to spin another one of those threads !" I advised, completely taken aback by the unbelievable nerve that naïve girl had in her.

"The Messenger will be guided through her earthly life by the boundless wisdom of her Mother and Father….." Atropos continued, her eyes closed while moments of the Child of Light's life were unfolding before her.

"Are you getting enough sleep old Momma? ! You've just said that the child has no father! "

"You are to be the Father of Eve, War God!"

"Who?! Me?!"

"You will protect her, you will look after her, you are to sacrifice your own immortality in order to keep her safe! The prophecy shall be fulfilled!"

"What? Why would I do that?! Plus, do you actually think that Xena would at least consider letting me get close enough to her child as to play the loving daddy part? Are you all out of your freaking minds?!"

"She will…eventually. She will have no choice. And you will give up your godhood out of love."

Lachesis' voice broke out louder than a bell.

I just sneered in contempt.

"Yeah right…I don't even know the kid yet! "

"Out of love for Xena…." the response rushed to fill in the dots..

"The truth has been revealed to you, Ares Son of Zeus. Is there anything else you want to know? "

"Who's this one God? Tell me it's not Dahok again!"

"No. The age of the Dark One has passed. It's time for the era of Light, of the Universal God to emerge. The beginning of a new world lies ahead of you…."

"I don't like this…." I bit, frowning at their blatant ideas.

"You should go, Ares. The Mother of the Messenger has awakened. You have lots of things to talk about…."

"Mother of the Messenger my ass. If I ever call her that, I bet my sword she'll grab…"

I didn't get the chance to finish that phrase though, cause in the blink of an eye I was forcefully transported back to the temple, where, two sets of drilling blue eyes were staring at me with a surprise to match the rebirth of the Titans.

"Where have you been Bro?" Dite inquired impatiently, shifting her gaze from me to Xena and back..

"You wouldn't believe me…." I mumbled like a grumpy old man, casting a long glance towards my Princess' stomach…


	6. The chip off the old block

"Ok , ok, I get it….No need to give me **"the look" **…." Aphrodite uttered before Ares was able to hiss one sound. "It doesn't mean that I enjoy being cruelly left aside whenever it comes to a good share of fun and some interesting gossip, by the way, but... if you insist! "

"No peeking through the portal either!" the God made sure to specify. It was a low and malicious hit and run.

"Hey! That's not fair Ar….I wanna know too…." she whined, glaring at him accusingly.

"Know what?" Xena's cutting voice made them both turn their head in her direction, guilt and unease written all over their faces.

"Ok…so I guess I'll see ya' later" the Goddess quickly informed, a fake grin playing on her rosy lips.

She immediately puffed out of the room, obviously not at all anxious to witness the Warrior Princess' reaction upon hearing the news-whatever the news was-. Nonetheless, judging by her Brother's face, there was no way in Tartarus for it to be a good one , so, keeping her distance was the safest thing for her mental sanity anyway….For the record, given that dropping the portal option was out of the question- regardless of Ares' threat-, she could as well watch the interesting turn of events from afar…It wasn't the end of the world…Not as exciting that's true, but, it was better than nothing…..

Thus, seconds later, the bubbly Love Goddess was comfortably seated on her favorite pink fluffy sofa, in front of a large, full HD portal - meant to make out of her viewing experience an absolutely unique, surreal way of wasting her precious time - a brand new type of portal able to identify and zoom out for her every single unconscious reaction of her number one couple.

"Damn, I just knew I forgot something! " she suddenly shrieked, staring at the couch in disbelief. "Bro's right, I'm so air headed at times, it hurts! The 7D effects! Hephy promised he'd work his magic and get my sofa tuned with that stuff too….Athena 's got hers for months! " she pouted, sighing loudly while materializing a bowl full of cherries before her , and she was right about to voice some more frustrating thoughts on the subject when the Warrior Princess' voice captured her undivided attention.

"Here we go…." Dite said to herself, ears pricked up at the conversation.

"I asked you a question, Ares! What was Aphrodite talking about?"

"How should I know?! Why didn't you ask her? She was standing right here, just seconds ago!"

"I did ask her! I asked you both!"

"And what would you want me to say, Xena? "

He exhaled raggedly. His body was stiff…One didn't have to be a brilliant psychologist to tell that he was hiding something.

"Anyway….how are you feeling? " he ineffectively tried to stall.

She made a gesture to stand, but a firm hand on the shoulder stopped her.

"Oh no you don't….Not if you want to keep that child….."

As if a tone of bricks had fallen over her head, the memories invaded Xena's mind like flood.

For a moment there, she nearly forgot all about her alleged baby.

"So it's true after all….?" she murmured, casting him an inquisitive look.

"Oh yeah…."

His reply left no room for doubts….Neither did the discomfort in his eyes.

"And you didn't….."

"No….." he cut her off, on the same serious, maybe a bit pensive tonality.

"How could this be?"

For once she didn't sound accusing…only confused.

When he bit his lower lip, Xena knew there was something more about the situation….

Her eyebrows arched almost instantly while her own lips formed a tight, nervous line. They only parted for a split second to utter the question burning the tip of her tongue.

"What?"

There was a sparkle of fear , gleaming on the surface of her beryl eyes, or maybe he was seeing things….maybe it was just uncertainty….Whatever it was, the God couldn't put his finger on it, but it was there….as plain as daylight….

"Your child was given to you by the One God- some supreme entity, no one really knows much about him- He's called **the Creator** in a couple of very ancient writings…."

"How ? Why?"

"Some magic mambo jambo, breath of life thing….At least that's what the Fates said…."

"You went to see the Fates?"

"You're damn right I did. "

"Well, what else did they say?"

"To make a long story short, your daughter Eve, aka the Messenger of Peace, aka the Child of Light, aka the Faithful Servant aka the Child not Begotten by Man, will be the Bringer of Twilight, and she is destined to change the current world order and prepare the way for that One God guy….."

"Bringer of…Twilight?"

"That's what I said doll! Your child will be the sharp blade that will wipe the Olympian Gods from the face of the earth. Can you believe the irony? "

If he thought he'd seen fear in her eyes before, now it was terror engraving it's markings on her perfect, elegant features.

"No need to worry though" he continued, on a mockingly pompous note. "** I** appear to be untouchable. Your Evie will need a spiritual guide, and as it's been written, I happen to be the right candidate for the job!"

"Are you out of your freaking mind?! I'd rather die than allow you anywhere near my little girl! The mere thought of you corrupting her the same way you did me makes me sick to my stomach!" she hissed resentfully, grabbing roughly the edges of his leather vest and pulling him a few menacing inches closer to her, just for emphasis.

"Look…I get your…frustration, ok? And trust me, it's nothing personal. It's not like I've been asking for this….It's just the way things stand….I will be the father**/**protector of that child whether you like it or not….It's been written, Xe…."

He gave it his best shot to sound sincere and completely innocent of all charges, but it was that barely masked, devilish grin that gave him away….Her turmoil…he was enjoying it…

"Well, if you read again carefully, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to find your name written on the dead Gods' list, cause I might as well kill you myself….!" she growled, gritting her teeth.

"I don't even know why you fuss so much about it…It's just a prophecy, and prophecies are….what was that word again…. **interpretable**? Nothing to worry about….…Plus, I think I've already mentioned that Messenger of **Peace** detail…." , he answered, adamant about putting an end to what looked to turn into a rapidly evolving conflict….

"Peace through** slaughter**!" she insisted, looking daggers at him.

"My kind of peace….Can't say I'm opposed to the idea, sorry…."

He desperately wished he had wisely kept that last phrase to himself, the instant he said it.

"Are you telling me that you're **destined** to mold my daughter into a cold blooded killer?"

This time, he just couldn't help it. The acid words slipped inevitably from the tip of his lips, and they sounded surprisingly natural too….

"The chip off the old block….."

"You filthy, worthless Bastard! You disgust me!"

For a few moments he looked beyond wounded by her line….He looked…grief stricken….Sooner than expected though, a generous, seductive smile let her know that her victory had been but temporary…..He was the one holding the cards; he had every reason to feel good about it….

"I…**.disgust**…you…" he repeated frostily, slowly tracing her collarbone with the tip of his fingers, his amber eyes transfixed by the smooth texture of her skin. ….."That's unpleasant news….I'm sure your opinion will change though, and pretty soon too…."

"Don't count on it!"

"Your life…. your **daughter's life** is in my hands, Xena! If word about your pregnancy gets out, all Olypmus will be on your head…The Messenger will never get to see the light of day cause she will be already dead way before she even got the chance to be born!"

"Are you threatening me?"

She was boiling mad.

"I'm warning you….Think about it…..Think about the possibilities..."

In less than a blink he was gone again, leaving a nearly exploding Xena to reevaluate the catastrophic proportion of the mess in which she still couldn't tell how she had managed to get herself into….


	7. Step 5: Acceptance

It hurt like shit from the minute she dared put her feet on the ground. All of her body ached as if she had been torn into half, and every step she took , she felt it like a vicious stab through the guts, hitting straight into that invisible, totally unexpected and uncalled for child she was carrying.

For the first time in her life she didn't have a plan. She didn't know where she was heading to or what she was going to do next, but she did know that she needed to put as much distance between her and Ares as possible. She couldn't stay there any more. She was literally chocking in between the walls of that temple, and Gabrielle's absence only made her even edgier…

She walked out of the white marble structure without looking back…She could have called Aphrodite, she could have asked her to take her away from that place, but for some odd reason she just didn't want to have anything to do with anyone, human or immortal…

As she reached the margin of the woods, she silently wished she could somehow close her eyes and wake up under a totally different sky, embracing the light of another lovely morning, next to a deeply sleeping Bard , while of all of those new, complex problems that she couldn't control, would rapidly dissolve into the hot summer wind, leaving behind but the faint trace of a horrific nightmare that she could simply lock inside her brain and throw away the key….

She unconsciously wiped away a bitter tear rolling down her cheek….There was something very wrong about that whole situation and she didn't like it….There was something very wrong with her….

**XXX**

Hours later, when Ares finally found her, she was sitting next to a small spring, gazing blankly towards a fallen tree trunk situated a couple of yards away from her.

The God cast her a long, wary look. Usually, he could read her like an open book…As expected, this time was not an exception, and despite the fact that her face was as inscrutable as a clay mask, he easily recognized the large spectrum of emotions well hidden beneath the dark shadow of long, thick lashes protecting her stunningly blue moons.

He wasn't particularly thrilled of the amount of pain he could detect in her aura either...and she was still as pale as wax...

...She must have felt his presence, he was sure she did; she didn't say anything about it though, she just went on pretending that he wasn't there.

As he progressively closed in the distance between them, the Olympian finally noticed that his Princess was clutching something in her left hand….He instantly recognized it: mandrake root….

A few more steps, and he silently sat down on the grass beside her, every cell of his brain screaming at him to snatch the poisonous plant from her hand. He effectively repressed his instincts though…He knew her far to well to realize that forcing her to do something that she didn't desire would turn into nothing more but a resonant failure to dominate her volcanic temper…

"Watcha doin' here? "

His voice was soft and his tone casual despite that unbearable pressure pulsating inside his temples.

"Knitting…" she acidly replied, visibly annoyed by his presence.

" Ok…I'll just take the liberty and blame your attitude on the…** mood swings**…All pregnant women have them…."

To no one's surprise, she flashed him a baleful gaze- a very specific one that was usually reserved for him and him alone.

"...Don't worry about it though, they say it gets better as the pregnancy progresses…"

"This is not my first pregnancy, Ares. I already had Solan, remember? "

"Well yeah….technically….."

"Technically **and **practically " she stressed, wondering what he had meant by that word.

As if having heard her thoughts, he immediately started to explain himself…He proved to be better than the Oracle of Delphi ….

"**Technically **you were his mother…**.Practically** you weren't there for him…I was just trying to say that probably the idea of living the full experience now, with Eve, scares you to death…."

"No it doesn't…cause there will be no Eve…" she murmured, tightening her hold on that mandrake root with a ferocity meant to suggest that she was actually holding the most valuable diamond in the world and that Ares was in fact the embodiment of the ultimate self improved Autolycus aching to steel it away from her..

For more than a few seconds, the God was speechless. Then, for reasons that he himself was unable to comprehend, he became mad at her.

"You don't wanna do that…"

"You don't know the first thing about my feelings, so don't you dare tell me what I want or don't want to do!"

"You'd be surprised…" he uttered in a grave voice, covering her hands with his own. She just pulled them away, as if his touch alone would have some kind of boundless power over her.

"Xena…."

He needed to choose his words carefully, he was well aware of that…He was walking on thin ice while the ice she was standing on was already breaking…

"…Look….this is hard for you and I get it, really ..I do…"

"No you don't! You don't get it! I just woke up one morning and found out that I was carrying some unknown deity's child ! Even saying it sounds as ridiculous as Hades and Zeus playing tag in the Elysian Fields! "

"Sweetheart…"

"I don't want this baby, Ares! I hate it! I want it gone, and I know how horribly inhuman it might sound, but that's what I feel!" she finally burst with frustration, tears streaming down her face.

"It's only natural to feel this way given the circumstances, but Honey, give yourself a chance! Give that child a chance. Once the shock wears out..."

She stubbornly shook her head, frowning at some unseen illusions unfolding before her eyes….Her imagination was already running wild…

"No….."

"You'll do fine…Trust me, you'll be the perfect Mom. " the God encouraged , but he could clearly see how his words kept hitting an impenetrable wall built around her brain….

He tried caressing her hair, but she firmly pushed his hand away…..Completely defying her will, he forcefully pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her. Any attempt to break free proved to be useless of course, and consumed by tears and panic as she was she didn't really want to be released after all.

In a few minutes, she was visibly calmer, and the slow motion movements of the God's rocking seemed to have done the trick.

"It doesn't feel like she's mine….It's like she doesn't even belong to me…."

"It **will** pass soon, I promise. "

A heartbreaking sigh followed. Right out of nowhere though, as if something in her mind had clicked, she turned around to look him in the eyes:

"You said that she'll bring about the end of the Gods…She will be the death of your parents, of your brothers and sisters…of Aphrodite….How comes that you're ok with this?!"

Truth being told, she had every right to be suspicious…..

There was no delay in his answer. No second thoughts…

"I couldn't care less about those two faced siblings of mine- as you well know-….As for Aphrodite…she's tougher than you think…..I'm sure she'll survive…."

His honesty was mind blowing.

"You do realize that I'm having **some other entity's** baby, right? And that someone is **not** **you**… " she acidly bit, adamant about hitting him where it hurt the most.

"Yeah well….if I can deal with it, I'm absolutely positive that you can do the same…."

This time he sounded cold and detached. Still, that awfully long pause in between breaths, gave him away quite easily ….Plus, there was no more warmth and sensitivity in his voice.

" Well…that's my decision to make…" the Warrior Princess made sure to point out, shifting her glare towards her still flat abdomen.

It took but one skilful move of the God's hand and a second of inadvertence from Xena's part for him to take the mandrake root and turn it into a crisp.

"Not any more ….." he said, vanishing with her in his arms back to the temple….


	8. Dirty dancing

"Put me down! Ares put me down right now! "

Oh yeah, that sounded like the Warrior Babe, all right….I turned around in a flash, relieved to see Bro' entering the room with her safely encased in his arms…They looked so ultimately cute together! I'm telling ya' all, that image was definitely worth immortalized on some temple wall somewhere...Somewhere central...like in an agora...…I mean the way he was holding her against his chest…I just couldn't hold back that silly sigh….I'm such a sucker for cotton candy romance…

"Ares!"

This time, she really sounded pissed. As they got closer to me, I finally managed to take a good look at her body posture, since her face was partially covered by those long dark tresses flowing down her shoulders. Yep….she was tensed….And boiling mad…

"Yes Darling?"

Hearing Bro's casual, ridiculously relaxed tone, an instant wave of laughter rushed to pile up inside my throat. He was such a cynic sometimes!

"Are you deaf or something? Put me down. I can walk you know, there's no need for you to carry me around like a baby! "

"Do you feel…**uncomfortable** in my arms or something?" he inquired, sketching that subtle, boyish smile of his…Oh! My heart was melting!

Giggling was a must this time... I couldn't help it; an embarrassed Warrior Babe was a funny Warrior Babe.

Needless to say that in a split second she was drilling me with that intimidating, glacial gaze she liked to use now and then, mostly when she wanted to make an impression.

I just flashed my famous one million dinars smile at her, not knowing what else to do…An apologetic expression soon followed that totally uninspired and partially involuntary stretch of my lips…

"I'm just trying to say that I'm not an invalid! " she replied in a steely voice, quickly shifting her attention back at him.

I nosily exhaled that forcefully held in breath that was pressing the inner walls of my lungs…Having Xena herself staring at you that way is not a dreamlike situation under any circumstance, take my word for it…

"Here you go, Princess. " Ar finally stated, placing her back on the bed.

I almost smiled again at the sight of that unveiled tenderness reflecting in his every gesture when it came to her, when I suddenly witnessed an unexpected transformation of his facial expression from unbelievably lovely to utterly furious.

It all made sense when I saw him gazing in shock from his covered in blood hands to the Warrior Babe's devious smirk and back.

"I'd say that keeping this child or not is my decision after all…." Xe announced formally.

"Oh no…." The words left my mouth automatically, without even realizing that I had articulated them out loud.

Ares just threw me a raging, exasperated look. Once again, the tension didn't last long, for he quickly redirected his anger back at Xena. It was a good thing that they were far too furious at each other to actually pay to much attention to little old me.

"What have you done?" he questioned on a dry, disgusted tonality, and I could distinctly feel that barely audible tremble in his voice.

She didn't answer, she just kept looking at him, utter defiance brightening the surface of her ice cold moons.

"What have you done ?" he hoarsely screamed this time , and call it the voice of experience but I just knew he was going to slap her….

…He did….

I instinctively covered my face as if he were hitting me…Xena on the other hand, had no such childish reactions….She just fixed him with her gaze again, without flinching a muscle…As still as a statue...

When she responded she sounded completely unaffected by what had just happened.

" I might have had some mandrake root before you came…."

"What?"

"I was upset, ok? "

"You were **upset**?! This is your best excuse?!

"Well what would you want me to say? You know how I feel about…**it**!"

"Stop speaking about her as if she were an object! She's your daughter for crying out loud! "

"Not yet…." she mumbled, visibly a bit alarmed now about the quantity of blood flooding the bed.

"If she dies, you die Xena! "

"Wha…Are you threatening me now?!" she burst out, overly irritated by the possibility.

"I'm informing you! Your lives are bound to each other"

In all appearances, he was serious. And while my heart skipped more than one beat, the Warrior Babe arched a pensive eyebrow and asked on an inhumanly detached tone:

"How do you know? Did the Fates tell you?"

"No they didn't, Call it godly intuition if you will. It doesn't take a genius to figure that your Benefactor made sure he had a pretty good insurance policy! I mean , here…" he said materializing a mirror in front of her.

" …ever since that bleeding started, you look as if you were raised from the dead. The pallor is beyond any normal limit and you know it….And the fact that you can barely stand…Well…it all adds up"

At that point, I was stunned. Was it really true or was he just trying to scare her?

"Xe…honey…" I began, taking a few steps in the direction of the bed.

"Shut up, Dite!" they both yelled, staring daggers my way.

I froze in place, unable to move one muscle.

"I did lose some blood…" she murmured, touching her livid cheeks with the tips of her fingers.

"Not **that** much…Look Doll, to make a long story short , you have two options here: you either allow me to stop that bleeding which basically means that you'll give up the nonsense about wanting to martyrise yourself for this feminist cause you're currently flirting with once and for all, or, you'll get to throw a slumber party on the banks of Styx in less than two hours….."

"I'd rather do that than having that Bastard's child!"

"Hey hey hey! I thought I was the only Bastard around here! " he ironically joked, and I couldn't help marvelling at the fact that he was still able to find the strength to do it given the gravity of the situation.

The rest of his sentence literally gave me the chills...Xe was right, he was such a jerk sometimes!

"... I might have forgotten to mention that you won't be throwing that party alone…" he lowly murmured against her ear, not low enough so that I couldn't hear him though. "Cyrene, Toris, Gabrielle and anyone who still means anything to you will be there to keep you company….Is that convincing enough for you? "

"Is this the best you can do?"

It sure looked like the Warrior Babe wasn't the easiest woman to intimidate.

" No...I can definitely do a whole lot better; even a bit descriptive if that's what you want...Just let me know beforehand if the idea of including a free representation with Cyrene and the irritating Blonde on my show list would interest you...I might even bring Lyceus to life for a couple of priceless hours so that you could enjoy together the sight of your mother being hacked to pieces...My, my! It already sounds like a wicked family celebration! I myself would feel tempted to choose it if I were you...You could spend some unique moments in each other's company after all!" "


	9. The art of War

"Why you…" she started, but she was dramatically interrupted by Ares's overly theatrical tone:

"…..**"conniving Bastard!"** Or was it the **"Demented Son of a Bachae ?"** one, this time? "

"No, actually it was …"

And just when she was ready to explode even more deadly then the Vesuvius itself, he filled in the dots, on the same angry Xena tone he had used before:

"…**"You good for nothing seven headed Cerberus!" **Now that's a new one…Gotta love the originality."

By this time Aphrodite's eyes were moving like ping pong balls, staring in utter amazement at the rapidly unfolding events, not knowing exactly if she was supposed to laugh or to cry at the sight of the visibly approaching storm, given the fact that any type of intervention from her part was not an option.

And yet, her Brother's following line made her involuntarily crack a warm smile, despite the awkwardness of the situation.

"Hey…don't be mad…We've known each other for awhile now….Plus, you're so uncontrollably furious at me at least couple of times a day for various reasons, that the fact that I've become quite an expert in quoting you shouldn't come like such a tremendous surprise…"

She opened her mouth to bark a response. Once again, Ares cut her off, casually answering her yet unvoiced question.

"You know Doll, this might sound strange coming from me, but sometimes physical violence is **not** the answer. Sometimes it only takes a few minutes of open-heartedness and some actual conversation to solve a problem. "

He sounded as smug as a peacock and that patronizing grin didn't help his cause much.

The large pillow that crushed straight in his face in response, was thus meant to partially avenge the forcefully reduced to silence Warrior Princess.

Strangely enough, as the pillow fell down on the floor, he didn't look too bothered by her infantile gesture. Dite's girlish giggles did manage to hit a nerve, though.

To the Goddess' immeasurable surprise, he decided to simply ignore her, and to go on tormenting Xena in exchange.

"So….about our deal….What do you say?"

"I say you're full of shit and that you're too much aware that the second you touch a single strand of hair on their heads you and I are through to even think about doing something similar"

The God took a good look at her. He couldn't help smiling…Her passion , her energy were exhilarating.

He bit his lower lip pensively before taking a seat on the edge of the bed, and it sure seemed that the idea of putting even the slightest distance between them didn't even cross his mind. To the Warrior Princess' visible discomfort, their shoulders were touching, and while he was obviously enjoying the sensation of her silky skin rubbing against his own with each and every move, she became even readier to chop him to little pieces during the first insignificant moment of inadvertence.

They were quiet for a couple of seconds until Ares finally decided to offer her a reply.

He searched for her eyes again. She was as mad as a famished Cyclops. Her fingers had dug into the satin sheets and were holding to them for dear life, while her forehead was still contracted in the form of a destructive frown .

He arched an appreciative eyebrow at her reaction. The mere thought that he could still stir that kind of extreme emotions inside her soul was a well deserved prize.

He leaned a bit against her ear to utter his answer, but his line proved to be anything but the seductive whisper she had expected , on the contrary, it was uttered in his usual vibrant, sonorous voice, every word articulated and emphasized with remarkable severity.

" That wouldn't matter any more if you were dead now, would it? And don't think for one tiny second that I would hesitate in sending them all to keep you company in the pits of Tartarus….If that child dies, you die….And if you die, they all die along with you, Xena. "

Like a wild beast, she gritted her teeth and growled fiercely before shoving him brutally off the bed.

In less than a blink, he was back on his feet as if nothing had happened, not at all impressed about her outburst.

"Now now…what did I tell you about violence, Princess?" he inquired in a calm, passive tone, while making a cup of that ever so useful herbal mixture the Love Goddess had given her the last time, appear in his hand.

"You might wanna drink this. It should stop the bleeding quite efficiently…"

She casually took it from his hand just to throw it in his face the following moment.

Aphrodite froze….

"_That was so not a smart move" _she said to herself, pretty much aware of what was going to happen next.

A powerful slap with the back of his hand and an already visibly bruised cheek later, the War God made another cup materialize in his hand.

"Drink Gods damn it!"

The breaking noise of porcelain being smashed against a temple column was all the God needed to hear in order to loose the last shred of patience he still had with her.

The third time that bloody cup appeared though, he didn't ask her anything any more. He just took a long sip that threw the Warrior Princess a bit out of balance. What was he doing and...and why?!

The answer to that intriguing question came with no delay. The minute his fingers curled around her neck, pressing against her windpipe so hard that she could tell it was just instants away from snapping, she knew it. Her survival instincts took over almost unconsciously, and while both of her hands griped his iron like wrist in the attempt to somehow free herself from his grasp, her lips parted simultaneously in search for air- the perfect moment for the God to pull her closer, and, letting the now useless cup fall from his hand, he grabbed a fistful of her hair. During the animalistically rough kiss that followed, he made sure to pour down her throat all that bitter liquid which she had adamantly refused to drink otherwise.

"Good….I just knew you couldn't refuse…" he finally spoke once he was done, wisely putting a bit of distance between them.

He casually blocked the second pillow that came flying towards his face…Nonetheless, there was nothing he could do about her spiteful, glacial stare.

"Why in Tartarus do you care so much about this child huh?! I don't get it, I just don't! What is it that you're not telling me?"

He didn't say anything. He just turned around to leave.

"Don't you dare !" she warned, making him stop dead in his tracks. " Answer me!"

Granting her wish, he spoke, his voice steely and devoid of any type of emotion, just like his previous kiss had been. Still, he didn't bother to turn around and face her.

"Let's just say that the One God isn't the only one looking for a good insurance policy! It's called the art of War, Baby! You should have known!"

A wave of utter disappointment showered over her like cold autumn rain.

….Too bad she couldn't see his eyes….He was lying…


	10. Diamonds can kill

"What was that all about?!" Aphrodite demanded to know the instant her vortex travel ended, the bright light dropping her to one of Ares' deserted temples on a cliff facing the Ionian sea.

Ares couldn't help arching a perfectly traced eyebrow at her accusing tone -utter amazement written all over his godly visage. That feisty attitude springing from his kid Sister's inner core, now that was something he didn't get to see as often as he would have liked it to.

It's safe to say that he certainly hadn't expected that surprisingly rough shove against his chest either, and despite the fact that what for the Love Goddess had meant something close to the ultimate power push, for the War God her childish gesture didn't at least get close to the light caress of a warm summer afternoon breeze- he had barely moved back half a step - just for the sake of humoring her.

"Wow there! " he exclaimed while gently grabbing her wrists, an irritatingly cynical smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Did you trip over something? I've always warned you about those high heels, Sis….One of these days you're going to break that perfectly cute, porcelain nose of yours…"

She just jerked herself out of his grasp and threw him a furious look.

" You shouldn't have said that to her Ares! Now she's going to believe that all you've cared about thus far was using that child for your own sick interests! "

"Yeah..so?"

"What do you mean **"Yeah so?"** You shouldn't have done it! "

"I** shouldn't **have done it? " he acidly stressed passing her by as if she were a marble statue, carelessly pushing her aside on his way to the altar where a temptingly full jug of wine was waiting for the touch of his dry, thirsty lips.

To her wary look, he gave an exasperated one in return. By Styx itself, he hated being harassed like that!

"No you shouldn't have! It's wrong! Xena's state of mind is already fragile as it is and the last thing she needs right now is useless, additional stress; that much I can tell you! Plus, lying yourself out of every single problem no matter how insignificant has gradually turned into a bad habit as I can tell! " she underlined, getting close enough to him to take that goblet of wine he had just poured from his hand and place it on the very edge of the altar.

" Excuse me?" he blew up , visibly bothered by her straightforwardness. The nerve she had in her!

"You 've heard me. Instead of struggling to make things work between you, instead of offering her your complete and unconditional support, telling her that the reason why you're so desperately clinging to the birth of that little girl is the same one for which you were capable of moving mountains just to stop that bleeding, you prefer to bury your head in the sand and give her what she wants to hear!"

"Oh really?"

" Really! You're in love with her! She's the woman of your dreams and you want a family with her!"

The truth sounded unnaturally cruel coming from her mouth. It cut right through his heart like steel.

"Have you ever stopped to think for a minute that if that damn prophecy comes true, her child might offer unimaginable opportunities? All Gods would be dead Dite! Olympus would tremble….As for us…we would be the new rulers of Greece! You could cover every little inch of these lands in pink rose petals while my army would march towards the gate of a new, challenging city to conquer..."

The Goddess stubbornly placed her hands on her hips. Was he joking?

"Oh puhleaseeeeee! Like I'd ever buy that crap! Just admit that you were wrong for once, Ares! It would make things a lot easier, trust me!"

Despite himself he just couldn't repress that contemptuous snarl.

"**Easier** my ass!" he mumbled to himself but she heard him nonetheless.

" By Daddy himself, I just don't get it. Why do you always have to avoid confessing how you really feel about her?"

"Don't you think I've tried that? She doesn't give a damn about it! I've already told her that everything would be ok, that I' m willing to help her with the baby…."

"**Being willing to help** isn't precisely the same with " **wanting a family with her**, Ares. Not where I come from, anyway! "

"You come from a seashell for crying out loud!" he finally snapped, visibly pissed about the disturbing urgency reverberating from her squealing voice.

She rolled her eyes at his totally immature line.

"That's so Cuppie like, Bro! And Cuppie is like only 450 years old ! Just fix everything before it's too late ok? "

"What exactly do you want from me Aphrodite ? Huh? What would you have me do ... kneel in front of her, pull out a diamond ring and ask her hand in marriage? She's not the type, trust me! "

"A diamond ring sounds nice!See? It's not so hard once you get the hang of it!" she mildly encouraged.

"She'd stab me in the neck with it!"

"If only it were sharp enough! …." she growled through clenched teeth, aware nonetheless that not even in her own fabulous, old fashion imagination , that type of idyllic scenario could ever come true.

He absently rubbed his temples with the tips of his fingers for a couple of seconds, eyes closed, before vanishing abruptly from the room.

This time, the Love Goddess stayed behind, staring blankly at the richly decorated wine jug from the altar.


	11. Family issues

" What now?!" the Warrior Princess roared the very instant he stepped out of the vortex, wasting no time in letting him know exactly how she felt about his presence there. She had already had enough of him for one day and Fates knew that she simply lacked both the energy and the will to put up with his nerve racking arrogance for even one more minute.

He took in an impressive breath of fresh air…He had accurately anticipated that beastly, hateful attitude ever since he decided to return, but he still couldn't get his heart to accept the content of that spiteful note she had chosen to spice her words with….

"Calm down I'm not here to fight."

Despite the pacificatory inflections of his voice, her tone remained nonetheless the same. She was way too pissed to even consider changing it.

"Why are you here then?"

He let out an audible sigh before taking a few steps closer to the bed.

One single gaze directed straight towards his face and she knew it: he was trying to make amends. That only managed to infuriate her even more. He had a guilty conscience to deal with now and he was looking for a way to ease his burden! By Hades himself if she was going to let that happen!

"I shouldn't have lost my temper like that just now…."

The apologetic gaze that followed was bound to convince her of his immeasurable sincerity and regret.

Contrary to his expectations, she didn't voice one sound. She was patiently waiting for the rest of his phrase….When she finally realized though that his entire speech had been already uttered within that short, emotionally insignificant line, she just let out a long, mocking snort.

"Is that it?"

He pressed his lips together nervously. She just had to humiliate him! Damn woman!

" I was angry…..ok?"

"No it's not ok , Ares! Trying to rule my life by threatening me with harming my love ones unless I do what you want me to is not ok! It's sick! " she exploded, throwing another pillow at him….He ducked the fluffy, flying object with disturbing ease, trying to understand why exactly was she doing that in the first place….That was like the…third pillow that day…

"Well that's only because you refuse to obey me otherwise!"

"To obey you?! " she was fuming. "I'm neither a slave nor an animal you twisted Bastard! I'm a human being and I can decide what I want to do with my life all by myself without your godly interference!"

Back to square one again…..Another pillow passed him by with the dazzling speed of a flying saucer. He barely had the time to notice while skillfully avoiding a face impact.

" That was a poor choice of words…." he clumsily tried to fix the situation, aware of the fact that he had started off on the wrong foot. "What I actually meant was that….."

"…..What you **pointed out** quite clearly was that **you **want **me** to have that baby and I should act according to your selfish desires!"

"Do you really **have** to feel **this **offended simply because I'm doing my best here to stop you from making a colossal mistake? "

" Why don't you mind your own business for once huh? And stop meddling into my affairs cause I'm not some silly, disoriented teenager freaking about her first pregnancy! I know what I want!"

"And what the fuck is that Xena? To kill your own child? Your own flesh and blood, knowing that I'd be there to pick up the pieces afterwards? Have you lost your mind? How can you even consider that after what happened to Solan? It would kill ya"!

"Maybe it should!" she screamed at him from the top of her lungs, rage engraved on her every feature like letters on a marble wall.

He wanted to scream back at her, to shout that they had already had that conversation earlier that day, but he was way too shocked about the implications of her brutally honest answer to think about anything else.

"Is that what you're doing?...Punishing yourself for Solan's death?!"

A long, heavy silence followed during which neither of them spoke.

"….I don't deserve this child….I don't deserve any child for that matter…"

The God flinched. That was a frightening conclusion to reach.

For what felt like forever, he tried to find an answer to fit her own…..In the end, what he came up with was a line to rival Joxer's idiocy.

"That One God guy seems to think otherwise….."

She just gave him an odd look and then cracked a cynical smile:

"Should that make me feel better?"

"I don't know….But I do know one thing….Your little girl could be the beginning of a new life for us if you want it to….A fresh start…"

Her eyes widened in surprise. He had mentioned that before but she didn't actually think he had the guts to utter it again. The mere concept of him acting as a paternal figure for her child was giving her the chills in more way than one.

"Don't tell me you're talking about…."

" We could leave that damned prophecy aside…..If you want to, we could even pretend that we don't know anything about her future…about her powers….Who knows? Maybe it's all a lie, I mean prophecies are just one tiny fraction of an infinite number of possibilities…."

She looked at him blankly, while her hands stopped to rest flat on her belly. He was serious. He was actually struggling to make her see things his way...

"Could we hide this from the rest of the Gods?" she suddenly heard herself asking.

"Not for too long…They'll find out…eventually. I could buy ourselves some time though, just enough until I can figure out a way out of this…Until you and your daughter are safe…."

"We will never be safe…."

" Leave that to me….I'm sure I can strike a deal with the Fates…"

"A deal? What kind of deal? Plus, the Fates are not known for their malleability, Ares! They don't bargain!"

"Actually, I have a hunch that they might prove rather eager to save their precious loom from let's say...a terrible fire, maybe….?"

She was speechless. That was a mind blowing insinuation.

"What?! Have you gone mad? That would destroy ….everything!"

"Have a little faith will ya? I'm sure they wouldn't risk rejecting my offer. Between saving humanity and spreading nasty rumors about your child, they would feel generous enough as to chose the first option...They **will** keep her safe..."

"How could they keep her safe? "

"That's the trick...But first thing's first...are you with me on this or not? "

The Warrior Princess appeared to be thinking….the truth was that her mind was already made up.

"Xena…it's not like you'll get a better offer…Just….give me a chance here….It won't be so bad, I promise….I'll make it work….."

"Make what work?"

His voice was thick with well buried emotion.

"Us….as a family…."

She almost choked on the bluntness of his demand.

"We're not cut out for the standard type of life, Ares, you should have known by now...It would never be like that between us…. "

"Don't knock it till you've tried it. "

"This is insane…." she barely got the time to mumble before his voice rushed to cover hers.

"I'll take that as a **yes. **Great. I'll go get Gabrielle….You'll need all the help you can get with the pregnancy and all…."

She was bewildered, but she silently nodded her acceptance…This was happening all too fast for her taste …..How in Zeus' name was she going to tell her friend all the new information? What would Gabrielle think?! Everything was a mess….


	12. How? When? Why?

*****Hey guy****s, sorry for the delay, it was a busy week! Read and enjoy :) Oh, and thanks for the reviews! *****

The Battling Bard was still making tremendous efforts to recover after her first vortex travel- aka doing all her best not to vomit the most delicious breakfast she had had in months- when the sight of her new surroundings finally got to her.

"Wha…Where are we? Xena?! Thank the Gods I was so worried! Are you ok? " she finally exclaimed the instant she noticed her friend's troubled gaze fixed on her particularly disturbed visage.

The very next moment though, as if she had been hit full force by an overly loaded with weapons war wagon, her nausea vanished under the impact of a new, impossible to explain, mind-blowing detail: a scantily clothed Warrior Princess had been obviously spending time in the company of that unreliable cocky Bastard she hated so much -behind her back- while she was worrying sick for her.

"What are you doing here….dressed like that?"

" It's a nightgown " . Xena pointed out biting her lip. "Why were you worried? Didn't Aphrodite…."

"I can see that. Why are you wearing a nightgown?"

A brief pause followed during which Gabrielle only looked even more bothered by the sight she had before her. " She just dropped by to tell me that you were fine and that you were busy doing her a favor….I could smell the lie from afar. She's the worst liar I've ever met in my life….besides Joxer., that is…Still...you didn't answer my question. "

"She obviously couldn't sleep in her lathers, could she? " Ares felt the poignant need to intervene. "There was the option to have her sleep naked but than again, for some odd reason she refused …."

A very disapproving glare was launched at maximum speed from the depth of the raven beauty's azure orbs , hitting him like a thunderbolt and reducing him to silence long enough for the Bard to voice her surprise.

" You've been …sleeping here..."

And yes, it did sound more like a statement than a question...

One swift glance from her unusually nervous friend to Ares and back, and that was pretty much everything Gabrielle needed to start putting the pieces together. When she spoke again, she did her best to hide her revolt. She failed miserably of course, since the repulsion regarding that possibility was painted all over her face.

" Xena….what's going on…?"

Whatever it was, it couldn't be good- not if the God of War was part of the picture and not with Xena looking as guilty as if she had swept an entire village from the face of the earth.

"Xena's pregnant" Ares casually broke the silence, additionally rushing to answer all of the Bard's still unspoken but very much present questions, doing one hell of a job in covering everything that she was anxious to know, too:

"…..yeah, you've heard me correctly. No, I'm not the father. Yes, I'm telling the truth. That would be the One God . I don't know, I'm not the freaking Oracle of Delphi….And no, Smartass unfortunately I have **nothing** to do with Xena's present condition- no schemes , no tricks up my sleeve. Ok…. that pretty much sums it up I guess. She can fill you in with the rest of the juicy details. " he finally concluded feigning to miss the Warrior Princess' frustrated expression as well as the Bard's chalk white face. "You're welcome, Princess. " he was keen on adding right before leaving the place, wisely assuming that as long as there were still pillows in that room , he couldn't possibly consider that area as being safe.

XXX

Hardly had the cocky Olympian vanished, that the interrogatory started. For the Warrior Princess it didn't come as a surprise- knowing Gabrielle as she did, it was only natural to expect that she would bend over backwards to get to the bottom of that still unsolved mystery.

"Please tell me he was only making fun of me…."

Her voice was low, broken and insecure.

Xena's gaze changed direction almost immediately. It was more than enough that she had a pregnancy to deal with….having to explain something that she couldn't even clarify to herself was more than any mortal was able to handle.

"I wish I could….."

"When?...How? Why would...?" The long series of ludicrously sounding questions started to form on the tip of her lips. She didn't dare finish any of them though- the shock had turned that intention into an impossible to complete task.

"I don't know! I just woke up one day and I was pregnant! I wasn't even aware that I was with child, Ares was the one who sensed it first!"

"Ares, huh?"

The acid irony was hard to ignore.

" Yeah. We were fighting….."

"Oh….that explains it…..I couldn't have guessed…..So….you were **killing** each other and he caught a vibe...Just like that…." Gabrielle continued on the same offensive tone.

Despite the rising anger, the Warrior Princess tried to maintain her cool. It wasn't the right moment for an argument….

"He's a God, Gabrielle. He can….. **sense** this type of things…..Plus, being his Chosen and all, he's very much aware of any change in my body, no matter how subtle or insignificant…."

" I'm sure he can…." she said clearing her throat, a gesture that only made Xena loose her patience and snap at her.

"Look, I didn't ask for any of this, ok?! You of all people should know! "

There was a lot of hurt in her eyes-enough to make Gabrielle wanna take her words back, and swallow the rest of her fantesist hypothesis, along with that distinct taste of bitterness from her moth.

"I'm sorry….It's just that….This was so unexpected….How could you be pregnant? "

She took a seat on the edge of her friend's bed, and covered Xena's hand with her own.

"Oh trust me, you haven't heard anything yet! Wait till you hear the rest of the story…."


	13. White lies, black truth

***** This chapter is dedicated to you, **_**Shay**_**.**** Thank you so much for your support and kind words******

By the time the Warrior Princess finished her brain racking story, every possible emotion had washed over Gabrielle's previously numbed with shock senses, but despite her most sedulous efforts, she simply failed to understand how in the world could Xena accept her faith with such surprising and inconceivable submission.

She had expected to see at least the pale shade of some carefully hidden- but still very much present- soul splitting sufferance engraved on her face, but no…on the contrary, she appeared to be remarkably relaxed and resigned….Maybe a bit more tense than she usually was while performing her daily "catch the bad guys " routine , but ** resigned**-a word the meaning of which she would have never believed to have the chance to associate it to the Warrior Princess' inflexible character.

"Aren't you going to say something?" Xena finally dared to ask when the Bard's silence became literally unbearable.

A completely disarming shrug was all the reaction she got for the following minute-a whole minute of pure torture that she could have sworn it was bound to last until the end of eternity and back.

"I don't know what to say…." the Bard finally whispered , avoiding her concerned friend's inquisitive gaze…"I mean….what is there to be said? You've got it all figured out….It doesn't matter what I think….It won't change anything…"

"That's not true….Your opinion matters to me…." the Warrior interrupted, covering Gabrielle's hand with her own.

When their eyes met though, the Warrior Princess was definitely not prepared to deal with the message they were so contemptuously conveying, for while her light blue moons were filled with unspoken regret and unconfessed terror, Gabrielle's forest green ones held neither compassion nor comprehension what so ever for the delicate situation her friend was in….They were simply cold…..lifeless, even….

"Why would you even want to keep this child…?" she started, withdrawing her hand from Xena's tender grasp. " …After what happened to Solan and Hope…Did you even consider the possibility that this pregnancy might be….."

"Don't even go there!" Xena warned, frowning at the still unuttered idea. " My child has nothing to do with Hope, so leave Dahok out of this!"

"You don't know that!" the explosion followed without delay. " Have you ever heard of this One God before..? …cause I'm dead sure I haven't, and I 'm a Bard Xena! By Zeus himself I think I've read every possible legend regarding creation! "

"We're just human Gabrielle, we can't know everything!"

"You mean** I** don't know everything…..It's ok you can say it, I don't mind! It's not like this would be the first time you refuse to give me credit for….anything…"

"What?" the Warrior Princess snapped, but judging by her voice she was rather exhausted than angry.

"Never mind….this isn't about me, anyway…." Gabrielle snorted, she herself tired of having the same conversation over and over again….."But this whole situation Xena…..it doesn't sound right to me…..Why** you**?...Doesn't it make you wonder….? And Ares offering to be the father of your child, to protect you both from **his own** siblings…."

"Are you actually blaming Ares for this?!"

"He obviously has something to do with it ! He was the one who told you about the baby in the first place! For crying out loud, maybe you're not even pregnant!"

The room echoed with her scream, but for some odd reason, her interlocutor's reaction was by far situated at the opposite level of intensity. Nevertheless, as to make up for the offensively placid reaction, a smug little smile found it's way on Xena's lips the instant the Bard's theory crumbled into tiny bits and pieces under the effect of the devastating piece of information that was launched like a torpedo straight to her already torn apart heart.

"You might want to contradict Aphrodite on that one!"

Gabrielle blinked repeatedly while her brain was still working on deciphering her friend's message, as if coping with the present reality was the hardest thing she was asked to do.

"Did she confirm his…"

"Yes" the Warrior Princes intervened, her suddenly stiff body posture and those explicitly arched eyebrows acting as the perfectly suggestive echo of her concise but overly powerful statement.

Gabrielle turned around and walked towards the table where she poured herself a glass of wine. She rarely felt the need to drink, but for the love of Gaia, that was one of those moments in which intoxicating her every cell with alcohol seemed like the only way out….

"Do you want one?" she questioned in a low, absent voice, without actually expecting a response, as if she were actually talking to herself. The deliciously aromatic liquid glided down her throat soon after, as if it had been water.

Xena just shook her head lightly, unable to speak….She would have needed more than a glass to forget…..Certainly more than a bottle, too…..

And then, right out of nowhere, while pouring herself a second glass, the horrific suggestion popped out of the Bard's dry, quenchless mouth.

"You could get rid of it, you know….."

"Are you out of your freaking mind?!"

The protest was incredibly vehement if one cared to consider her own previously failed attempt earlier that day….

"It would solve all your problems…Things would go back to normal and you will no longer be part of some demented God's game….."

Xena took in a deep breath….The Bard had no idea just how tempting her words were…

"For the last time….this is not about Ares…"

"Could you bet your life on it? "

The question contained nothing more nothing less than the cruel, bluntly exposed truth.

"Could you, Xena?" Gabrielle pushed, placing the glass back on the table only to fill it again.

The Warrior Princess threw her a puzzled gaze, slightly startled by the sudden calmness in her friend's voice and definitely taken aback by her unnatural urge to get wasted. .

" You might wanna take it easy on that. ...All of Ares' wine comes from Bacchus' personal cellars…...It's pretty hard stuff….Your head will hurt for days…"

The Bard simply rolled her eyes at her and kept talking while intentionally taking another sip.

"Ok…let's assume…let's just assume for one moment that I'm wrong. That he has nothing to do with your pregnancy, that he has no tricks up his sleeve -as he so elegantly put it….What about the rest of the unanswered questions? Who's this One God guy? Is he evil? Is he good? Why would he choose you out of all mortals to carry his child? What does the hidden agenda say? Face it Xena, all you have thus far, is Ares' side of an extremely tangled and hard to believe story!"

"Are you trying to tell me that **both **him **and Dite** are lying?! "

" We're talking about Ares here! It's not like this would be a first to him! How many times haven't you told me about his schemes , his manipulation , about all the shows he'd staged just to get you back? Maybe this is just another one of his plots! Gods know I can't find a better explanation for this!"

"How about Dite? Care to explain that?"

"Maybe he lied to her too. Maybe he …got you pregnant without you knowing it….."

"Well that would certainly turn him into the world's most famous magician!" Xena shouted at her, the overly sarcastic comeback only managing to make her doubt her own words.

Gabrielle hesitated only a second before offering a reply.

"You know what I mean…."

"He wouldn't do that to me…."

There was no conviction into those words, Not any more.

"Not even if the stakes are high enough…..?"

And then there was silence….

XXX

Up on Olympus, the King of the Gods was pensively following some live quality action mirrored into the crystal image of a widely opened portal, an expression of unfathomable pride and utter satisfaction beaming on his eternally perfect visage.

" Keeping an eye on your Favorite Son?" the War God hissed with spite while a disgusted grimace rushed to fill in the rest of his unspoken thoughts on the subject.

" A parent's gotta do what a parent's gotta do….And Hercules can take care of himself. He doesn't need my protection. I was just observing..." the strikingly cordial reply came to grate even more on the Olympian's nerves along with that trademark, defying gaze that he hated so much. .

"Yeah. Still... given the fact that you're all about parenthood and ultimate fairness…"

"Why are you here Ares?" the King demanded to know, closing the portal.

"I'm not sure yet….But I do know that you'll clear that up for me soon enough….."

Zeus parted his lips to talk, but the line that he had in mind wasn't precisely amongst the ones that his Olympian Son might have wanted to hear.

That's probably the reason why, before he even got the chance to voice it, Ares' now detached tonality was already covering his.

" Does the name **" Messenger of Peace " **ring a bell for you?"


End file.
